Starlight, Starbright
by Lexy797
Summary: Hogwarts is lit up by the full moon overhead as Luna Lovegood walks the silent grounds. Most of the inhabitants of the castle are asleep, but she can't sleep tonight. And someone else can't either...
1. An Unexpected Guest

((AN- This is the revised first chapter of the story guys, and I will be editing and fixing up the other two chapters as I get ready to start back on this fic. I apologize to you guys for not writing in such a long time, a ton of stuff has been going on the last few months. I should be updating regularly now that everything is settled, though. ))

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any part of Harry Potter or any of the characters involved. JK Rowling is to thank for that :P

Luna gazed up at the stars. It was one of the warmest nights of the year at Hogwarts. The castle was quiet, with just a few students still sitting up talking in their common rooms. A slight breeze whispered through the trees nearby, and she heard the soft hoots of the Hogwarts messengers as they left the Owlery to hunt. It was unusually bright out with the full moon perched directly overhead.

A door opened and closed nearby. She jumped up, startled, as Malfoy walked through the tall grass, looking back over his shoulder.

"Hello, Draco," she said in her misty voice as he got closer.

His head whipped around, surprised. "Loony! What are you doing here?" he asked, curling his lip.

"What are _you_ doing here?" the blonde said in reply, speaking in her usual dreamlike tone.

He glared at her. He was used to getting straight answers from everyone, but for some reason he could never faze this girl. Malfoy looked her over, noticing she had bare feet. "Too poor for shoes, Lovegood?" he said with a sneer.

"No," she answered, looking back at the moon.

He cleared his throat impatiently. "Then where are your shoes?"

She looked back at him like she had forgotten he was there. "People in my house have been taking my things and hiding them," she said. "It's happened before, it's all just good fun."

Malfoy felt an alien twinge of pity for the strange girl, before quickly hiding it behind an expressionless mask. "Oh…" he said.

Suddenly the white light of the moon escaped the clutches of the sparse black clouds, striking Luna's face. Her eyes were puffy and drying tears streaked her face, welling from her cobalt eyes. He stared at her, not having a clue of what to do. "Luna, why are you crying?" He asked, realizing that he had used her real name, not the usual 'Loony' when he spoke.

Her shoulders tensed and she looked at the ground as fresh tears sprung to her eyes. A muffled sob escaped her throat as she pressed her hands over her face.

His breath caught in his throat and numbly, unaware of his own actions, he reached out and wrapped his arms around the weeping Ravenclaw. She stiffened in shock, but soon gave into the embrace, leaning into his strangely welcoming arms.

Malfoy's mind was blank. What in Merlin's name was he doing? But he realized, for once in his life, not a thought entered his mind about her traitor father or her crazy conspiracies. He didn't care just then that he was a Slytherin prince and the girl he was holding was Loony Lovegood. He just kept his arms around her.

Gradually Luna's tears stopped, reducing to sniffles every now and then. She pulled out of his arms and sat on the ground, staring at her hands resting in her lap. He hesitated, then sat beside her and propped his elbows on his knees.

They watched the stars move slowly across the sky in silence, hearing crickets chirping around them. Suddenly she broke the quiet. "Tonight is the anniversary of my mother's death."

Draco bit his lip and tried to quell the feeling that his heart was just ripped out of his chest.


	2. Detention It Is

((AN- And drumroll… le revised chapter two! Okay, okay, don't get too excited now.))

DISCLAIMER: Though I wish with every fiber of my being that it was my imagination that gave birth to the amazing characters featured in this fic, it was not. JK Rowling is to thank for all of it.

Draco didn't even glance up from the table when Crabbe and Goyle slid into their usual positions on either side of him. He had practically forgotten about meeting Luna the night before, until his goons brought up the subject.

"Where were you last night?" Goyle grunted.

Malfoy frowned. His brain churned to find a viable excuse, but he ended up not needing one.

"I bet he was hiding away somewhere snogging Pansy," Crabbe said, snickering.

He glared at them, "What I do with whom is none of your business, though if you must know, I was." Thank Merlin it worked. They turned back to their breakfast, digging in like a pair of hogs.

Speak of the devil, he thought as Pansy Parkinson squashed in between him and Crabbe.

"Where were you last night, Draco?" she whined.

Crabbe and Goyle looked at him suspiciously, and Draco cursed under his breath, standing quickly. "I forgot," he said hurriedly, "I have a meeting with Snape this morning," and was out of the Great Hall in the blink of an eye.

He strode quickly down the corridor towards the library, planning to hide out there until breakfast was over. As he pushed through the heavy doors though, he ran straight into Luna Lovegood coming the other way. They landed heavily on the carpet; thank Merlin it _was _carpet and not the stone that made up the floor of the rest of the castle. Malfoy pushed himself off the ground and automatically glared at the girl until, seeing who she was held out his hand to help her up. Sadly, McGonagall rounded the corner then and narrowed her eyes at him as she quickened her pace.

"Draco Malfoy! I don't care who your father is, I will not tolerate you bullying my students any longer!" She nudged him to the side and helped Luna up herself. "I am very sorry Miss Lovegood, I will deal with Mr. Malfoy."

"But Professor-" Luna began, only to be cut off.

"Continue to class Miss Lovegood," she said briskly as she took hold of Draco's arm and dragged him along behind her.

Once he was seated in Professor Snape's office, she began her tirade. "Draco Malfoy has been bullying students in this school without consequence for far too long. Something needs to be done about this, Severus. I suggest an owl be sent to Mr. Malfoy immediately but further punishment be dealt by you, since you are the head of his house."

Snape turned to look at Draco with narrowed eyes, though his face was as expressionless as always. "You are a pureblood Slytherin, and it is time you started acting like one. Your father would be disappointed with your actions. I will see you here tonight, and every night following until I feel your punishment is served."

Draco stared bug-eyed at his teachers. "But Professors, I didn't-" he spluttered

"No excuses, Mr. Malfoy!" He clamped his mouth shut, McGonagall wouldn't be swayed.

He stomped angrily out of the potion master's office. This is what you get for being nice, he thought, kicking himself. He wouldn't make the samemistake a second time.

Draco sat through his classes, barely paying attention. He was still fuming about the detention scheduled for that night. He blamed Luna, although he knew he shouldn't. It was the professors' fault for not letting him explain what really happened. His anger only compacted throughout the day.

As class ended and he was walking towards Snape's classroom to spend the rest of the afternoon cleaning potion bottles, Luna turned the corner and skipped by him. Coming to a halt, she turned and tried to speak. "Hello Draco, I-"

He cut her off growling, "Don't you dare talk to me Loony." Her face fell, and he tried hard to quash the feeling of remorse that suddenly filled him. He couldn't take it back now even if he wanted to. He walked slowly down the winding stairs to the dungeons, and trudged through Snape's door. "Professor, I'm here," he called.

Snape's bird-like nose stuck out of the potion cupboard, giving the boy a puzzled look. "Didn't the girl tell you?" he droned.

"Tell me what?" he asked, equally puzzled.

"Lovegood came a few minutes ago and explained what happened this morning in the hall. You have been released from your detention," he said a little disappointedly.

Draco blinked in surprise, "Why would she want to help me?"

Professor Snape didn't answer, retreating back into his closet.


	3. Indecision

((AN- Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing, it means so much to me. Please continue on, and I will try to update regularly as best I can. ))

DISCLAIMER: I regret to inform you that I am not JK Rowling. I am a fourteen year old American. Therefore, I did not write Harry Potter.

Luna stared out the window at the slice of moon visible through the dark, heavy clouds. She bit her lip, thinking back to the meeting with Professor Snape. He had seemed surprised that she had come to explain what happened with Draco that morning at all.

"Why would you want to help him?" he had asked her, his uncaring attitude slipping for a moment as his curiosity was piqued. "He's never done anything but bully you."

She thought for a moment about his question, for she truly didn't know the answer herself. Finally she said, "I don't think it's his fault for acting the way he does. With a family like his, he must have a large burden on his shoulders feeling as if he must live up to their standards and expectations. People like them don't sympathize with those they feel are weak. He must look always look strong to them. In truth I'm sad for him; I don't hate him for what he's done.

Snape stared at her in shock. No mention of Hooded Wingdumps or Hooktailed Floozles possessing the boy and forcing him to do their will? No conspiracies about made-up creatures being behind the Slytherin's wicked ways? Her answer was rational. Very rational, actually.

"I suppose the nargles could have had a hand in it too, though."

The greasy-haired professor slumped in defeat.

She hadn't known herself why she had gone to Snape until he had asked her. She was used to being bullied- every year some student would take her things and hide them around the school. Like she had told Draco before, it was all just good fun. But Draco's bullying had always been different. Countless times he had ripped the Quibbler out of her hands and bashed her father. He would call him a blood traitor among worse things. He would shout across the room "Hey Loony, find any nargles lately?" He and his friends would laugh and mock her. She had never let it get to her, though. He was a Malfoy after all, and she knew that no matter how bad he seemed, inside he was just a lonely young man who had been kicked around his entire life by the people he called family. She pitied him, and wished Draco didn't feel like he had to hurt others to feel strong. It was good to see a different side of him that night under the stars. Nothing ever lasts for long though, she thought as she remembered the Slytherin's biting words earlier that evening.

She shifted position on the window seat in the remote corridor, seeing Hermione as the girl walked down the hallway on the way to Gryffindor tower. The bookworm started, fumbling her books when she saw Luna there. "Oh, that's where you went, we were looking all over for you!" she said, smiling at the quirky Ravenclaw.

Luna quickly pasted a smile on her face, but her expression didn't go unnoticed by Hermione. "Is something wrong, Luna?" she had rarely seen the infallible girl upset.

"Of course not, I'm just a bit tired."

The girl scrutinized the blonde's face, looking suspicious. "Come to think of it, you've seemed kind of off the past couple days. Did something happen?"

She ducked her head, "It's nothing, you don't need to worry about it," she said quietly.

Hermione's enchanted watch buzzed, informing her that she was now out past curfew. She glanced worriedly toward her house's tower, then back to Luna. "Tell me if anything happens, okay? We're here for you," the frizzy haired Gryffindor told her, running off down the corridor.

Luna leaned back against the cold glass of the window and listened as rain began to strike against it, harder as the minutes ticked by. She tried to sort out her thoughts, but they were beyond her. She didn't know how she should feel. She pushed the conflicting thoughts about a certain Slytherin out of her head as comforting arms and biting insults melded together. She sighed, got to her feet, and started toward the starry confines of Ravenclaw tower.

Draco wandered down hallway after twisting hallway, not caring where he was going. He needed some time to think in peace away from the constant chatter of the Slytherin common room. The boy was beginning to regret snapping at Luna, which was definitely a new emotion for him. He rarely regretted anything he did. But maybe it was better if things went back to how they had always been, anyway. He doubted either of their circles of friends would condone them being anywhere near each other. The infamous Slytherin and the loony Ravenclaw? It was almost laughable in its absurdity.

The boy growled in frustration. However much he tried to reason with himself, he couldn't get the girl out of his head. And suddenly there she was, the angel of his nightmares. He quickly turned the other way, and attempted to get around the corner before the girl noticed him, only to see Ms. Norris and Filch coming towards him, a murderous look on the Squib's face. Draco deadpanned, cursing under his breath.

"What do you think you are doing out past curfew?" the old man growled.

Luna finally noticed that she wasn't alone in the hallway, coming to a stop beside Draco. She blinked at Filch, "Um… I uh," she stuttered, eyes wide.

The Slytherin quickly intervened. "I was just taking Lovegood to the medical wing. Uh, I was heading back to my common room when I found her. Someone must have cursed her, she can't speak a coherent word," he lied, pasting a smile on his face. Luna nodded quickly.

Filch looked at them, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I suppose you should turn around and go the other way then, seeing as the medical wing is on the other side of the school," he growled.

"Yes, we must've taken a wrong turn," he answered smoothly.

With one last sneer, Filch walked off, cat following closely behind. The two students waited until the old man turned the corner before speaking.

Luna let out a held breath, "Whew, I thought we were dead for a minute there," she said.

Draco hesitated, debating whether to just glare at her and walk off as usual, or give up and speak to her.

His gaze turned cold and his eyes narrowed at the girl beside him. "Get out of my sight Lovegood, or you may die yet. " He would just hurt her more in the end by continuing the conversation.

"B-but you just helped me," she stuttered.

"Now we're even," he said, "you get me out of detention, I get you out of trouble. Now get away from me." He turned on his heel and walked off, resisting the urge to turn back. He was who he was, just as she was who she was. That was never going to change.

Luna turned and walked away.


End file.
